Plant Library

Other Names:  Joseph's Coat, Tampala, Chinese Spinach, Callaloo

Description:

This variety will really stand out in your garden; emerging foliage is bright yellow and pink, maturing to blue-green with hot pink variegation; fast growing and tolerates heat and poor soil; great for borders or containers

Ornamental Features

Summer Poinsettia's attractive textured narrow leaves remain bluish-green in color with showy hot pink variegation and tinges of buttery yellow throughout the season on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth.

Landscape Attributes

Summer Poinsettia is an herbaceous annual with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Summer Poinsettia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Summer Poinsettia will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 inches. The stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. This fast-growing annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America.

Summer Poinsettia is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.